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Ive had no poo on my mind all week, so its funny that I got a question asking me my thoughts on it.

What is no-poo?
Basically, no-pooing means you dont shampoo your hair, at all. Instead of using shampoo and conditioner in the shower, you just scrub your scalp with water to loosen up and rinse any dirt. Some people use baking soda to clean their scalp in the shower, then follow with diluted apple cider vinegar.

Why no-poo?Shampoo strips your hair of its natural oil, making it necessary to shampoo regularly. The more stripped your scalp is, the more you need to shampoo. There are chemicals in shampoo that turn people off, and it can be extremely drying. People claim that after a few months without shampooing, their hair becomes shiny and healthy without the use of any styling products. No-pooers argue that people only started using shampoo in the 1930s, and if there wasnt a need before that, theres no need now!

My Thoughts on it.Ive never joined in on the movement, but I see why people do. All I can comment on really is what its like from behind the cutting chair. Hair that isnt shampood feels so different from hair that is shampood. Its a little alarming at first, because it is so coated in natural oils, almost like it has a shield around each hair. There is a heavy-ness to it, but not the same as flat or weighed down hair. When you wet down their hair before cutting, the water at the base of the shampoo bowl looks like a rainbow from all the oils. Kind of like when a car leaves an oil spot on a drive way and the sun glistens on it, haha.

Pros1. It is so kick a** to stick it to the media and be freed of product handcuffs.2. Less chemicals in your life.
3. Shiny, healthy hair.
4. Saving money on products.
5. It sounds kind of cool.

Cons
1. Its a little bit gross. Im supportive of my clients who choose to not shampoo but I have to wash my hands really well after they leave.
2. It takes a few months for your hair to adjust to not shampooing. These months are horrendous from what I hear.
3. Buying hats to deal with con number 2.
4. Your head smells. Not strong and not even necessarily bad, but it smells like a head and that never goes away.
5. I would miss that squeaky clean feeling. I know I would. Even if its a little bad for my hair, it sure feels great when its clean as a whistle!
6. You cant color treat your hair. You need shampoo to wash out the dyes. But chances are if you dont like chemicals in your shampoos, you dont like chemicals in your dyes.

I find no-pooers so fascinating! Many of them that I know have tried it out for a year or two, but eventually went back to regular shampooing.

I get a lot of emails asking if color shampoo and conditioner is necessary.

YES!

Well, yes if youre trying to make your color last.

Shampoo is made to strip your hair of oils and dirt, and unfortunately this also means it strips hair color, making it look dull and faded. Color shampoo protects your hair color from fading. If that doesnt convince you, and youre holding back because you dont want one more thing to buy, remember that you are getting more money out of your color service if you are making it last longer! Not taking care of it properly is kind of a waste, right?

This picture is so edited (Instagram!) that you cant really see the true color, but I went pinker! This is definitely a semi-perm color, because it came from a shampoo! Niles from my work, who is a color assistant, asked me if he could try this pastel shampoo on me to see how my hair would take it.

It really really took it. The pink is beautiful, but it is so bright, that I feel like the natural looking roots dont really marry with the bottom. Its like Little Orphan Annie on top and My Little Pony Tales on the bottom. But Im crazy and Ill try anything so I dont care. In fact, I really like having pink hair. And people on the street want to talk to mewell girls. This is definitely a man-repelling hair procedure. Which I dont mind because Jake loves me for the crazy pants that I am.

Im anxious to see how long this pink lasts. Ill make sure to give you a full review of the process! And some better pictures soon too!

Tonight Im going to pick a giveaway winner, so hurry and enter!

One commenter said she should win because her hair is gross and for some reason that had me laughing for 3 hours. I like a simple explanation like that.

It costs a lot of money to get your hair colored, so I thought Id share a few of my tips to keeping the color locked in. You know, so you can look hotter longer and get your moneys worth.

~First off, wait as long as possible to shampoo after a fresh color process. I got my hair colored last Thursday, and I waited until Tuesday to shampoo it again.
~Try to use cooler water on your hair. Warm or hot water will open the cuticle, making the color wash out quickly.
~Always use color safe shampoo/conditioner. This is especially important for you rich reds and brunettes. Most non-color safe shampoos will strip your color right out!
~Protect your hair when youre out and about. The sun will pull color out, so if youre out for long periods of time, its a good idea to wear a hat or a scarf.

My pink is almost already gone in just one shampoo! We knew when we did it that it would just last 2 or 3 washes, so Im willing to freeze my head in the shower so that I can have cool edgy hair for another week or two!

The shampoo/conditioning process is very important in creating volume. Its actually almost more important to know how to properly shampoo/condition so that you can prevent weighing down your hair. It is so easy to overdose on heavy conditioners thinking youre repairing your hair, when youre actually caking on more and more build-up, causing small tiny hair. So sad yall.

So, here are my steps for the best, most volumizing shampoo to create enormous hair.

Step 1: Use a good shampoo, of course! A volumizing shampoo is always a plus, or a clarifying shampoo to remove product and pollution build-up. Be careful with clarifying shampoos though, they can strip your hair. You dont want to use them more than once a week or every other.

Step 2: Shampoo thoroughly. Get all that dirt and grime out. Ive mentioned before that it is good to shampoo twice if your hair is extra dirty or hasnt been shampooed in a while. You dont want to use much shampoo each time, just about the size of, or a little bigger than a quarter. You usually wont get much of a lather the first shampoo, and when you get a big lather the second time around, it means the hair is clean. While youre shampooing, really make sure you scrub every single inch of your head. Im surprised how often I see clients that have very dirty hair underneath, and really only rub in a small circle with their palm on the top of their head. They skip out on the scrubbing with the pads of their fingertips and they dont get the sides, nape or crown properly cleaned! Lots of detail, but make sure you scrub!

Step 3: Avoid over-conditioning. This one is extremely important in preventing flat hair. To apply conditioner the right way, put a small amount in your palm, then start at the bottom of your hair and work it through upwards, combing through the strands. I dont even put it at the roots, because my natural oils moisturize that part and the conditioner will only weigh the roots down! The next part is vital.rinse like crazy. A lot of people get out of the shower with slimy hair, it should be soft, but not slimy. Rinse well!

Also, I would say not to use a moisturizing conditioner unless your hair is incredibly damaged or over-processed. A moisturizing conditioner will be too rich and too heavy. Think Pantene Pro-V. I know it is a really good detangler, but it is too heavy and it will pull your hair down like crisco. All conditioners will be moisturizing to a degree, so again, unless your hair really needs the extra moisture, Id go for a lighter volumizing one.

So, here is a short list of my favorite volumizing shampoos. (conditioners from all the following are good too, but this post is a little more focused on the shampoo!)

Matrix Amplify

Pureology Purevolume

Redken Body Full

Oribe Shampoo for Magnificent Volume

P.S. If you use shampoo for color treated hair, Id keep using that. Or you can alternate with a volumizing shampoo if you are dying for Dolly Parton hair.

(im so sorry about the funky centering of the photos. the photo centering on this blog with puzzle me until my dying day..)

Q by Michelle: I have a 9 year old daughter with very curly hair that is just above her shoulder. When she is active within 5 minutes her head/hair begins to smell like little boys dirty socks. The smell is horrible and only goes away if she shampoos. She is starting PE this year in school and she really does not want to smell in school. Any tips on any products that might help. Thanks

A by Reagan: Ok michelle, Im wondering if she shampoos her own hair, or if you help her. Because the first (and most simple) reason I thought of for this, is that maybe her hair isnt being properly shampooed. Its likely since her hair is very curly, she probably has a lot of volume and its easy to feel like your getting a really good, squeaky clean lather when in reality the shampoo might not even be getting to her scalp! The build-up and dirt that isnt getting cleaned will be the cause of odor. Again, this is the most simple cause I can think of, but I wont be surprised at all if it is the culprit. Have your daughter (or help her) shampoo her hair like this:
1~make sure hair is totally wet before putting in shampoo
2~put shampoo in your hands and rub together
3~scrub, scrub, scrub scalp and hair. Really make sure you are getting underneath her hair and touching the scalp. Did you know you arent even supposed to get much of a lather with the first shampoo? if you do, then you didnt let your hair get very dirty, or you are using too much shampoo.
4~rinse repeat. the second shampoo is supposed to lather a lot. that means the hair is clean!
5~condition ends and rinse

You can try a variety of shampoos if you havent already, and you might try sending her to school with a dry shampoo in her backpack to spray after gym. They have a nice fragrance similar to regular shampoo and they soak up odor.

I hope these suggestions help, but if they dont, you might want to take your daughter to a dermatologist. Just in case. Good luck!